The Northerner + Rail fares | The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/the-northerner+money/rail-fares
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A German student swapped her flat for a train ticket. You’d have to be a rich masochist to do that in the UKhttps://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/commentisfree/2015/aug/25/german-student-swapped-flat-for-train-ticket-rich-masochist-in-uk
<p>Leonie Müller uses the railway to write essays, catch up on sleep and even wash her hair. In Britain, the huge fares, late-running services and terrible Wi-Fi would make that impossible – never mind utterly unbearable</p><p>This week, an enterprising young woman called Leonie Müller made international news after it was reported that she had traded in her Stuttgart flat for an <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/student-fed-up-landlords-chooses-6304623" title="">unlimited rail ticket and was now living on the German railways</a>.</p><p>Following an argument with her landlady, the 23-year-old student left her apartment and, on 1 May, began an experiment in nomadic living. She now writes her essays using Deutsche Bahn’s Wi-Fi, washes her hair in the locomotive loos (the 41-minute stretch between Mannheim and Stuttgart is just long enough to get her style right) and zones out annoying fellow travellers with noise-cancelling headphones.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/commentisfree/2015/aug/25/german-student-swapped-flat-for-train-ticket-rich-masochist-in-uk">Continue reading...</a>Rail faresRail transportTransport policyTransportRail transportConsumer affairsVirgin GroupTue, 25 Aug 2015 16:46:32 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/commentisfree/2015/aug/25/german-student-swapped-flat-for-train-ticket-rich-masochist-in-ukPhotograph: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty ImagesHelen Pidd2015-08-25T16:46:32ZNorthern Rail is a disgracehttps://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/the-northerner/2014/sep/07/helen-pidd-i-hate-northern-rail
<p>It’s an insult that Northern Rail is <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/sep/07/northern-rail-passengers-rise-peak-travel-fares">putting up ticket prices</a> when the service they offer is so reliably terrible, says the Guardian’s northern editor, <strong>Helen Pidd</strong></p><p>I never travel with Northern Rail if I can help it, and not just because I have a car and some of their services are so slow that it’s quicker to drive – or cycle, or walk, on a really bad day. Nor is it because so many of their bone-shaking <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-15390172">“Pacer” trains</a> are so knackered that British Rail donated a load to Iran back in the day, where these “buses on rails” are now considered <a href="http://michaeltaylordowntown.tumblr.com/post/55854504180/northern-rail-its-not-funny-its-outrageous">too antiquated</a> to continue in active service. </p><p>No, I avoid Northern Rail because their services are so chuffing unreliable that I’d rather take a chance with motorway traffic than put my faith in a train which so often seems to get cancelled at the 11th hour. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/the-northerner/2014/sep/07/helen-pidd-i-hate-northern-rail">Continue reading...</a>Transport policyTransportRail faresManchesterLeedsLiverpoolGreater ManchesterSun, 07 Sep 2014 17:17:34 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/the-northerner/2014/sep/07/helen-pidd-i-hate-northern-railPhotograph: Christopher Thomond for The Guar/Christopher ThomondA Northern Rail train travelling through Cheshire.Photograph: Christopher Thomond for The Guar/Christopher ThomondA Northern Rail train travelling through Cheshire.Helen Pidd2014-09-07T17:17:34ZForget HS3 – we need to fix the north of England's wretched rail service now | Helen PIddhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jun/23/hs3-north-england-rail-service-george-osborne
George Osborne is busy making grand plans for the future, but he should sweat the small stuff<br /><br /><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jun/23/north-high-speed-train-line-george-osborne"><br />The north needs more than a high-speed train line, George</a><p>Every government press officer knows the best way to get coverage for their boss's latest vote-grabbing wheeze is to feed it to hacks on a sunny Sunday afternoon, when they are far more interested in what to put on the BBQ than whether they are being served the news equivalent of a dodgy burger.</p><p>George Osborne's spin doctors certainly couldn't risk leaving his speech at Manchester Museum of Science and Industry to be reported until after he had delivered it. Not when Andy Murray was hours away from stepping on to centre court, anyway. So they cooked it up ahead of time and were rewarded with largely uncritical coverage about the chancellor's desire to build HS3, a high-speed rail link between Leeds and Manchester and other northern cities.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jun/23/hs3-north-england-rail-service-george-osborne">Continue reading...</a>Rail transportTransportUK newsRail faresConsumer affairsTransport policyMoneyMon, 23 Jun 2014 19:01:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jun/23/hs3-north-england-rail-service-george-osbornePhotograph: Martin Rickett/PAGeorge Osborne talks about high-speed rail at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester. Photograph: Martin Rickett/PAPhotograph: Martin Rickett/PAGeorge Osborne talks about high-speed rail at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester. Photograph: Martin Rickett/PAHelen Pidd2014-06-23T19:01:00ZPower to the people: a happy ending to peaceful protest in South Yorkshirehttps://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/the-northerner/2014/may/16/freedom-rides-south-yorkshire-victory
<p>When transport chiefs in South Yorkshire decided to axe free rail travel for elderly and disabled passengers on 1 April, angry passengers decided to fight back - by turning up en masse for busy services and trying to board trains without paying. <b>Declan Lloyd</b> reports</p><p>A group of tenacious pensioners and disabled people in South Yorkshire will celebrate on Saturday in Barnsley after an innovative protest forced transport bosses to rethink plans to scrap free travel passes.</p><p>In the past six weeks an ever increasing number of people have joined the so-called Freedom Rides, causing deliberate but peaceful chaos as they turned up en masse for busy train services.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/the-northerner/2014/may/16/freedom-rides-south-yorkshire-victory">Continue reading...</a>UK newsTransport policyRail faresRail transportFri, 16 May 2014 17:55:10 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/the-northerner/2014/may/16/freedom-rides-south-yorkshire-victoryPhotograph: George ArthurProtesters in South Yorkshire protesting against cuts to travel passes for older people and the disabled Photograph: George ArthurPhotograph: George ArthurProtesters in South Yorkshire protesting against cuts to travel passes for older people and the disabled Photograph: George ArthurDeclan Lloyd2014-05-16T17:55:10ZTime for ministers to take responsibility for West Coast rail fiascohttps://www.theguardian.com/uk/the-northerner/2012/nov/02/rail-fares-rail-transport
The unholy franchise mess shows why Government should not be allowed to play trains, says <strong><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/ed-jacobs">Ed Jacobs</a></strong> in his weekly political comment for the <em>Guardian Northerner</em><p>Avid readers of this blog may remember that last year <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/the-northerner/2011/jun/17/blogpost">I questioned </a>whether the East Coast mainline, currently under public control, should now be transferred back to private ownership.</p><p>I did so on the basis of a number of problems. Figures showed that it had one of the worst punctuality rates of any train operator in the UK and despite fares going up, services such as unlimited internet were being confined only to first class. The operators also put an end to 100 years of the dining car. Not world-shattering I know, but enough to make you wonder whether a private firm would have been quite so eager to lose such services that provide a competitive edge.</p><p>The department proceeded despite being aware of "a lack of transparency" in the process of detraining the "subordinated loan facility" (SLF), the key part of the risk capital that bidders would have to agree to forfeit if they failed to meet the terms of their contract.</p><p>Bidders were not provided with sufficient information to be able to reliably predict the likely size of the SLF to be imposed by the Department.</p><p>However the Secretary of State spins it, the truth is that this is a franchise fiasco with not one but four Cabinet Ministers' fingerprints all over it. Who designed the new franchising policy, building significantly greater risk into the process? It was the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. Who reduced the Department's capability to manage major contracts by cutting a third of the staff, including the directors of procurement, rail strategy and rail contracts? It was the Secretary of State for Defence. </p><p>Who decided not to bother with an external audit, turning a saving of thousands into a cost of tens of millions, then delegated the entire process to her junior Minister and then failed to act on warning after warning about flaws in the process? It was the Secretary of State for International Development. And who declared himself satisfied with the whole process before the Transport Committee, despite the growing evidence that something had gone badly wrong, and then added to the chaos in the franchising system by replacing the costs of one competition with the costs of three? It was the current Secretary of State. This is a shambles involving not one but four members of the Prime Minister's Cabinet, and it is about time they took responsibility for it instead of blaming officials.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk/the-northerner/2012/nov/02/rail-fares-rail-transport">Continue reading...</a>PoliticsRail faresRail transportVirgin TrainsVirgin GroupSir Richard BransonJustine GreeningEurostarCentricaPhilip HammondWest coast mainlineFri, 02 Nov 2012 07:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/uk/the-northerner/2012/nov/02/rail-fares-rail-transportPhotograph: David Cheskin/PAWhat a mess. A Virgin train passing a First Group train on the west coast mainline. Photograph: David Cheskin/PAPhotograph: David Cheskin/PAWhat a mess. A Virgin train passing a First Group train on the west coast mainline. Photograph: David Cheskin/PAEd Jacobs2012-11-02T07:00:00ZRail investments need to be the start of something biggerhttps://www.theguardian.com/uk/the-northerner/2012/jul/20/rail-fares-north-nick-clegg-sheffield-northern-hub
Investment is welcome in the north, but cross party talks on reviving the regional economy could be far more significant. <strong><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/ed-jacobs">Ed Jacobs</a></strong>, the <em>Guardian Northerner</em>'s political commentator, reflects<p>Make no mistakes about it: for ministers, this week's <a href="http://www.dft.gov.uk/news/press-releases/dft-press-20120716a">announcement </a>of new funding for the UK's rail infrastructure, including plans for significant improvements across the north, was as much about politics as economics.</p><p>Last week's <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/jul/10/house-of-lords-reform-halted?newsfeed=true">debacle </a>over House of Lords Reform meant the announcement was not just about improving transport, but giving David Cameron and Nick Clegg the chance to re-launch the coalition yet again. It is he kind of thing that happens only when things really are getting bad; Gordon Brown tried the ploy many times but to no avail.</p><p><br>1. Addressing deep rooted structural problems, particularly the on-going southern bias of economic policy-making and infrastructure investment. Increasing spending on transport is a good start, but more is needed. In particular, with the <a href="http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_272411.pdf">latest figures</a> out this week showing that the three northern regions have the highest rates of unemployment of anywhere else in the country, ministers now need to figure out how best to create the atmosphere in which private business feels confident enough to create new jobs. </p><p>2. Better connected cities to secure wider regional growth. As the report notes, 'to maximise growth opportunities there needs to be much greater connectivity, coherence and coordination across and between economic centres.' Having dismantled the regional structures such as the Regional Development Agencies, Government policy such as the much vaunted <a href="http://www.dpm.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/news/city-deals-announced-allow-cities-go-growth">City Deals </a> and the <a href="http://www.bis.gov.uk/rgf/">Regional Growth Fund </a>has seen the emphasis very much placed on individual cities, leading to Liverpool and Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield, Newcastle and Sunderland to name just a few competing for various pots of money and powers rather than collaborating in the interest of regional growth. </p><p>The North of England has seen more than its fair share of economic challenges over the last few years. But what has impressed me is the resilience of individuals and the generation of new ideas led by business across a whole raft of industries.<br> The Government's approach towards boosting our economy across the North is fundamentally localist. We are shifting power away from central Government towards local communities and local businesses who better understand the barriers to - and opportunities for - growth in their area. Our Local Enterprise Partnerships are built around genuine economic areas that reflect the flow of businesses and services rather than ad hoc administrative boundaries. And the City Deals that we have just announced is a radical devolving of power to city leaders who will be able to exert more direct influence over their local economies and attract more investment. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk/the-northerner/2012/jul/20/rail-fares-north-nick-clegg-sheffield-northern-hub">Continue reading...</a>Rail transportRail faresLeedsManchesterLiverpoolNewcastlePoliticsNick CleggVince CableDavid CameronGreater ManchesterFri, 20 Jul 2012 06:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/uk/the-northerner/2012/jul/20/rail-fares-north-nick-clegg-sheffield-northern-hubPhotograph: Christopher Thomond/GuardianGetting there's important; but reviving the northern economy needs more than trains. Photograph: Christopher ThomondPhotograph: Christopher Thomond/GuardianGetting there's important; but reviving the northern economy needs more than trains. Photograph: Christopher ThomondEd Jacobs2012-07-20T06:00:00ZHas HS2 run out of steam?https://www.theguardian.com/uk/the-northerner/2012/jun/22/high-speed-train-hs3
Is High Speed Rail, once the hope of the north, now a runaway train on the road to nowhere? The <em>Guardian Northerner</em>'s political commentator <strong><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/ed-jacobs">Ed Jacobs </a></strong>weighs things up<p>It's finished. That's the assertion this week of Ross Clark, who has used <a href="http://www.spectator.co.uk/issues/16-june-2012/the-train-to-nowhere">an article</a> in the <em>Spectator</em> to argue that, in the words of one unnamed Conservative Minister, High Speed Rail is "effectively dead".</p><p>In 2010, shortly after gaining the key's to Number 10, David Cameron <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/road-and-rail-transport/8158342/David-Cameron-high-speed-rail-link-will-go-ahead.html">declared</a> that the construction of high speed rail to places such as Leeds and Manchester provided a vital opportunity to finally crack the north south divide. Having failed to make the breakthroughs across northern England that the party needed in the General Election, it was the Tories' opportunity to prove that they cared about and understood the north.</p><p>stands full-square behind a national high speed rail network.</p><p>High Speed 2 isn't going to reach the north in the near future, so in a sense it is not that surprising if people in the north don't think it will benefit them: the main beneficiaries in the near term are people going between London and Birmingham.</p><p>there is more work to be done to explain the benefits of HS2 to communities and business in the north of England.</p><p>1. What would High Speed Rail to northern England do to ease the UK's unenviable position of having the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/dec/30/uk-rail-season-tickets-europe">most expensive rail fares</a> in Europe?<br>2. How would the project address the problem of trains persistently running late?<br>3. Will HS2 do anything to relieve <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/aug/12/train-services-overcrowding-data">frequently overcrowded</a> trains? <br>4. Would HS2 do anything about the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012/jun/07/train-fares-confusing-regulator">train fare system</a> which so many people cite as being too confusing?</p><p>HS2 is a project that will deliver jobs and prosperity across the entire country by connecting the south with our great northern cities. With the West Coast Main Line expected to be at full capacity by the mid 2020s, building a new high speed line is the best and most cost effective option.</p><p>The Government stands full-square behind a national high speed rail network, as the Prime Minister re-iterated to Parliament at Prime Minister's Questions. There is absolutely no question of any change on this policy, which enjoys cross-party support and is a key part of the Government's National Infrastructure Plan.<br> <br>We continue to work to our business plan commitment of introducing a hybrid bill in the next parliamentary session.</p><p>High-speed rail has the potential to be a huge boost to the north by delivering jobs, growth and regeneration across the region. We need total commitment from ministers, not just to delivering the first stage to the Midlands, but to constructing the full Y-shaped network to Manchester and Leeds. Opponents of HS2 have failed to produce any alternative proposals which will resolve capacity problems on the existing rail network and deliver the economic benefits of the scheme.</p><p>It may well be true that there is more work to be done to explain the benefits of HS2 to communities and business in the north of England. That is the responsibility of all supporters of the scheme, but it is particularly important that ministers stop fighting internal battles with their own backbenchers and engage fully with the public debate on high speed rail.</p><p>n our poll people in the north didn't think HS2 would be good value for money. But that was only one question and obviously you could get a more rounded picture of what people think about it if you asked a range of questions. The public tend to be a bit sceptical about anything that sounds like a big government project.<br> <br>High Speed 2 isn't going to reach the north in the near future, so in a sense it is not that surprising if people in the north don't think it will benefit them: the main beneficiaries in the near term are people going between London and Birmingham.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk/the-northerner/2012/jun/22/high-speed-train-hs3">Continue reading...</a>PoliticsHS2Rail faresRail transportBoris JohnsonManchesterLeedsGreater ManchesterFri, 22 Jun 2012 06:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/uk/the-northerner/2012/jun/22/high-speed-train-hs3Photograph: David Jones/PAIs it stopping all on its own? Photograph: David Jones/PAPhotograph: David Jones/PAIs it stopping all on its own? Photograph: David Jones/PAEd Jacobs2012-06-22T06:00:00Z